


for the rest of our days

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bedside Vigils, Coma, F/F, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Holding Hands, Pining, Post-Shambala, Rhea's Days are Numbered, Training, Worried Catherine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25555027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Catherine waits for Lady Rhea to awaken after the battle of Shambala.
Relationships: Catherine/Rhea (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	for the rest of our days

_Lady Rhea will be all right. Lady Rhea will wake up. Lady Rhea will be all right._ With every thrust and swing of her sword, she whispers these words to herself. Catherine refuses to pace outside Lady Rhea's room, or sit by her bedside weeping and begging her to wake up. None of that will awaken her any faster, so why bother?

So she trains, because when she trains she barely has to think beyond her sword. Thinking leads to worrying, worrying will lead to pacing, and again, none of that will awaken Lady Rhea any faster.

Thunderbrand strikes effortlessly at the training dummy, one made especially for training with Relics that won't burn to a crisp with a single blow. Normally, she would wish for a partner, someone she could truly test her mettle with, but the professor is in a meeting with Claude and the others and right now, Catherine just wants to be alone.

_Lady Rhea will be all right._

But her mantra and the strike of Thunderbrand against the dummy can only keep her focused for so long before the pockets of worry open up. _Whaf it she isn't? What if she overtaxed herself? She was still weak from her confinement, you don't know what kind of torture the Empire subjected her to during those five years._

**_Stop it._** She lunges at the dummy, trying to block out the sound of her worries with the clang of steel, but to no avail. Fear drowns out her mantra, her grip loosens, and her next swing misses the target completely. If she were in a real battle right now, the enemy could have killed her.

_What if she dies because I'm not by her side?_

"My being there won't make any difference," she murmurs, closing her eyes, but the truth is ever since Rhea collapsed along with Shambala it took all her willpower not to beg Manuela to let her stay by her bedside. _Even Cyril knew better than to beg, and for all his criticisms of Manuela he trusts her._

She misses the target again, Thunderbrand's hilt begins to slip from her grasp, and Catherine gives up. She's not sure how long she's been at it, but it feels like an eternity and she's exhausted. Exhausted, worried, scared, and still trying to resist the urge to run up to the third floor and into Lady Rhea's room.

_It won't make a difference,_ she tries to tell herself again as the threat of tears stings her eyes. _But what if she doesn't make it, and I wasn't there in her last moments?_ But that won't happen, it can't happen, it _can't-_

Catherine quickly hangs Thunderbrand on the rack and bolts through the doors, running faster than her breath can catch up with her. Manuela grabs her before she can collapse at the door and makes her sit down; the corridor spins and her stomach rolls with nausea but all she can think is _Lady Rhea, Lady Rhea._

"Is she-"

"Calm down. Breathe." Manuela pushes a glass of water into her hands, and she obediently sips. "I thought you were going to train until I came to get you," she says, and Catherine shakes her head, laughing sadly.

"Pathetic, isn't it? When even _that_ can't distract me." She closes her eyes. "Is she..."

"The same as she was when you asked me three hours ago," Manuela says. "Her injuries are healing just fine, but only time will tell when she wakes up. Catherine, please, try to get some rest. I know you're worried, but-"

"I _know._ " It comes out snippier than she intended, and she sighs. "But I want to be with her anyway. Please..." Manuela glances between her and the door to Rhea's room, twisting her shawl in her hands. Finally, she nods.

"I don't need to tell you to be quiet, because I know you will."

"Thank you." Catherine stands up and gently nudges the door open, taking her place in the chair beside the bed. As she lays eyes on Lady Rhea's still form, her heart twists and her eyes sting; she's pale and still and if not for the barely-perceptible movement of her chest she could be mistaken for dead.

_I won't beg. I will not beg you to wake up, I promise Manuela I'd be quiet._ She bites down on her lip as she carefully takes Lady Rhea's hand, trying not to think about how cold it is. She feels her pulse, slow and steady, and that's enough.

Lady Rhea is far from the only person in her life. Catherine knows very well she's not alone, not with friends and colleagues and students surrounding her, and she cherishes each one of them. She knows she has a life and an identity beyond the archbishop's guardian.

But Lady Rhea is _special._ This is the woman who once saved her life, took her under her wing when her house was implicated in the King's murder, has always looked out for her and trusted in her. Over the years, Catherine's feelings have deepened from mere gratitude and loyalty.

Their positions have always meant a certain distance between them, and Lady Rhea has kept many secrets from her over the years. Many would resent her, but as someone with secrets of her own Catherine cannot bring herself to hold a grudge. Human or dragon, old or young, she is still the one Catherine cherishes most of all.

She knows she can live without Lady Rhea, but she doesn't want to.

_Please wake up. Please..._

Hours later, she's somewhere between awake and asleep when she feels a squeeze to her hand.

"Catherine...?" She jolts fully awake, Lady Rhea's eyes are open and some of the color has returned to her face. Catherine nearly melts with relief, tears stinging her eyes as she thanks the goddess and the saints for this moment. She leans forward, pressing Rhea's hand to her cheek.

"Welcome back," she whispers. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Should I-"

"I'll be fine." Rhea smiles weakly, squeezing her fingers more tightly. "Thank you, Catherine."

"You don't need to thank me."

"You were here," Rhea murmurs. "Even while I was sleeping I could sense you." Catherine smiles sadly.

"If I'd come earlier, then-"

"You're here now." Rhea laces their fingers together. "I'm sorry I worried you, and I don't plan to leave you or the others anytime soon." Catherine blinks back her tears, pressing repeated kisses to Rhea's knuckles, unable to stifle her laugh-cries of joy.

"I couldn't imagine my life without you."

"I may not have much time left in this world," Rhea says. "Children of the Goddess can live for many centuries, but I may have pushed my limit. You must be prepared for that, Catherine."

"Lady Rhea..."

"I cannot say when my time will come. It may be shortly after Nemesis is slain, or ten years from now," Rhea says, and Catherine wants to protest, how can she think of saying goodbye to Lady Rhea after almost losing her once? But Rhea smiles at her, squeezes her hand more firmly, and she pushes her fears aside. _This time you'll know it's coming. Maybe not when, but you'll still be prepared nonetheless._

She loves this woman. All she wants is to be by her side as long as she lives, and does it matter whether it's ten days or ten years from now? She presses another kiss to Rhea's hand, smiling as bravely as she can.

"Then let's make every moment we have together count."

Rhea lets go of her hand and gently strokes her cheek.

"They will, as long as you're with me," she says, and it's at this moment Catherine realizes that perhaps her feelings haven't been quite so one-sided after all. Or maybe this is just recent. But Lady Rhea looks at her as if she hung the moon, and that's all Catherine needs.


End file.
